Breaking: New Chris Roberts Game Announced! (October 10, 2012)

ChrisReid

Super Soaker Collector / Administrator
Roberts Space Industries has announced their new space combat sim! The new game is a complex, ambitious and exciting adventure. The overall framework is titled "Star Citizen," which Chris Roberts described on two levels: The first aspect involves the player character's citizenship in the universe, which could be determined by either military service like traditional Wing Commander gameplay or successful business a la Privateer. Alternately, the concept also involves bringing fans into the fold and making them citizens of the universe by involving them in the game's development.









The game's storyline campaign has been dubbed "Squadron 42," and it describes the player's role as a member of this elite wing. A lengthy trailer has been released that shows the Bengal Class Carrier, UEES Paul Steed, come under attack in the Kurasawa System of the Vega Sector. Many classic Wing Commander touches were in full effect - from the dash down the red-tinted corridor to being able to see your hand on the joystick in the cockpit. Check out these gorgeous screenshots and the trailer below!












The RSI website is currently getting hit hard, so here's the vid via GameSpot:

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Original update published on October 10, 2012
 
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okay now how much wing commander is in this game?

I noticed a few details, like others of you might have did:

- Kurasawa System
- Bengal class carrier
- a Kilrahti Symbol on the radar

just a coincidence or a "gap filler" for later developments?
 
Where can I find the whole RSI presentation as a video? I missed some parts of it and the RSI site just has a short video.
 
What I liked: sense of scale, dynamic thrust model on the ships. Neat.

What I didn't like: Roberts' defensive crouch, talking about "gamers like myself" and being "sad and angry that PC gamers get no respect," and the bashing of console, mobile, and casual gaming. You'd think a pompous throttle jockey like Chris would be using something other than an XBOX 360 controller to control his spaceship.

I'm one of those twits who think graphics are rather nice as they are, and that pursuing the visual "fidelity of a film" will only bring diminishing returns. This isn't 1992. Does watching our spaceman scratching his ass at 6:54 in the video really make you feel more immersed in the action?

Wing Commander 3 on the 3DO is a joy because it cuts all the crap and loads to the action very quickly. Wing Commander 1 and 2 on the PC, for all their "hardcore" elements, are lightweight arcade blasters by today's standards. A return to form for a fun, story-based space shooter with modern graphics would be a blast. I would prefer to play such a game on console or mobile.

This pitch stinks of Battlecruiser 3000 A.D.'s hubris and bloat. His crowdfunding moneygrab to cut through the "politics and noise of a publisher" strikes me as a self-indulgent ego stroke.

This isn't the Wing Commander rebirth that I want to play. I won't be contributing.
 
Space combat sims are dead at the moment.
Have you considered that helping to get this game made, would go a long way to you getting what you want?

I love both Wing Commander and Freespace (heinous a word as that is around here) and I am doubly excited today because I have this to look forward to and the possibility that if this is a success, I might just get Freespace 3 also.

:)
 
I like the dralthi..er...whatever that double-crescent fighter is...and the stylized Hornet...er...whatever that hornet-y fighter is..... This looks like all the cinematic and visual weight of Wing Commander .... wrapped around a world that is the more-dynamic Freelancer universe....

The idea to have a constantly evolving world via player exploration sounds intriguing...want to hear more before I say I "like it"

I hope the dynamic world includes strategic shifts as the backstory evolves...but there's a long way to go and I'm excited to see them trying it!
 
Well since this game is around 2 years away from release, it seems to me the Star Citizen and squadron 42 are generic enough names that if EA came along and said we will put are weight behind it and you can use the wing Commander Name it would be an easy thing to do.
 
II'm one of those twits who think graphics are rather nice as they are, and that pursuing the visual "fidelity of a film" will only bring diminishing returns. This isn't 1992. Does watching our spaceman scratching his ass at 6:54 in the video really make you feel more immersed in the action?
.


Yes absolutely, or rather watching beautifully articulated limbs operating the cockpit controls does, talking to NPCs that are animated and move in a way that convinces us they are alive, that is why developers continue to push those boundaries. I thought Chris did a very good job of highlighting a good example of this in Uncharted 2 and the minute detail that goes into your average movie. It is particularly important if you want a player to emotionally engage in a universe and I'm looking forward to seeing how Roberts goes about breathing life into the in game characters that most games fail to accomplish nearly so well as live action FMV did.
Obviously you can't have a good game or movie without numerous other elements, but most of my favorite titles pushed a sense of immersion in some way, be it visuals, controls, audio or storytelling. Given my specialty is graphics programming obviously I'm biased; and whilst I may feel that current technology is adequate for more stylized games, for a title where the emphasis is putting you into the cockpit then there is much more to explore, there are a huge number of techniques which can't be realised with current gen console hardware. The only thing that surprised me was the emphasis on poly count, but I imagine that will shift as the title moves further into development.
 
If it's even halfway as good as what Roberts is promoting it to be, then it'll still be the best in the genre since Freelancer (and probably better than Freelancer).
 
Anyone got an idea on what this game will be demanding on the player side?

I guess its way to early to talk about online activation/drm/... stuff (or was this also mentioned anywere already).

Did I get it right that this can be played as a MMO, but in that case there will be a monthly fee. Any hints as to how much this could be? Will it be playable completely offline?
 
Anyone got an idea on what this game will be demanding on the player side?

I guess its way to early to talk about online activation/drm/... stuff (or was this also mentioned anywere already).

Did I get it right that this can be played as a MMO, but in that case there will be a monthly fee. Any hints as to how much this could be? Will it be playable completely offline?

All this stuff is in the videos and on the website. It's a single/multiplayer game that is also connected to a persistent universe though people can run their own private servers as in Freelancer. It will be a one time payment (either pledge up or pay 60 bucks on release) and that's it... no fees. It will be more like Guild Wars 2 as far as payment goes. The Single player will be playable offline. So... like the Squadron 42 campaign can be done offline but online you can do it co-op with your buddies.
 
Star Citizens will receive access to the Wing Commander/Star Citizen universe for on-line persistent play (30 months)

I red that as recurring fees after the 30 months. So it is actually "we guarantee the servers for 30 months and afterwards you might be on your own"?


*splaps own head* AH - I see. That was supposed to be a timetable, not a duration...
 
personally, I don't like online games, because you are dependent on how long the servers will be online and the game will be supported. this will make the whole multiplayerconcept of the game obsolete in a couple of years or so :(
 
Considering that this also allows for private servers I see less of a risk as long as there is a fan base like the CIC. At worst we would keep such a server alive I guess.
 
personally, I don't like online games, because you are dependent on how long the servers will be online and the game will be supported. this will make the whole multiplayerconcept of the game obsolete in a couple of years or so :(
Ahem. Ultima Online. Still online since 1997. Still not going anywhere.
 
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